1. Sponsor retention strategies for tough times:
Engagement and evaluation strategies for rights holders to maximise
the “touch, tangibility and stickiness” of their sponsorship.
By
Ron Latham, Managing Director, Latham Consulting and
Daniel Rowlands, Partnership Management & Growth Executive, St George Illawarra Dragons
At a glance:
Research has identified three critical areas of concern for rights holders as they fight to retain sponsor support, and
their share of the A&P budget in this tough economic climate:
 Communication: 85% of sponsors agree with the statement that “There is a need for more open
communication between sponsors and rights holders”.
 Benefits not understood: 46% of sponsors agree with the statement that “The benefits of sponsorship are not
well understood in my organisation”.
 Evaluation: Key stakeholder feedback is seen as the most important evaluation measure (99%), but only 43%
of rights holders undertake formal sponsor feedback surveys.
Unless rights holders adopt strategies to address these concerns they risk a reduction in revenue, as scarce A&P
funds are reallocated to other media that can demonstrate a better return on investment.
Proactive strategies need to be developed to maximise the “touch and tangibility” benefits of the sponsorship within
sponsor organisations. Four possible engagement strategies to consider are:
 Work with the sponsor’s brand marketing, sponsorship and advertising and promotional teams to undertake
innovative, low cost or FOC, added-value activation initiatives that focus on expansion of the sponsorship, e.g.
through more: exposure and signage, product association and endorsement, joint promotions, player
appearances, client hospitality functions, social media activities etc;
 Make building the relationship with sponsors a priority to drive support and buy-in for the sponsorship.
Encourage the entire rights holder’s team to increase engagement and have more communication with the
sponsor organisation. In particular, focus on key decision makers and influencers in the “C” suite, marketing and
sponsorship teams and in the sales, business development and customer-facing areas of their organisation,
where it will have most impact and influence the continuity of the sponsorship.
 As part of this engagement and relationship building, ensure that all points of contact are “on-side” with the
sponsorship and can appreciate the benefits and return to their organisation. Ensure they can “touch” the
sponsorship and have involvement in some way, either at the venue or other promotional and support activities.
 Implement a Key Sponsor feedback program with the 20% that give you 80% of your revenue and undertake
one or two reviews a year, Ensure your KPIs reflect sponsors ROI and ROO objectives and use a 360°
assessment tool to gather feedback from all levels of contacts within sponsor organisations. Share and discuss
the results with sponsors and ensure performance improvement plans are carried through.

2. Sponsor retention in tough economic times:
Engagement and evaluation strategies for rights holders to maximise the “touch, tangibility and
stickiness” of their sponsorship within sponsor organisations.
Background
Rights holders understand that to sponsors they are But continuous involvement in sponsorship activation is
simply a supplier of one of many mediums available to also essential to ensure that the complex activities pivotal
reach their target audience and consumers and a part of to sponsorship effectiveness are accumulated through
the marketing mix to sell their products or services. They experience and consistent effort.
are competing for a share of the sponsor’s advertising and
promotional budget that is under pressure in these The Economy
challenging economic times. The continued tough economic outlook for the next few
years presents rights holders / properties and sponsors
Research has identified three critical areas of concern for with both significant challenges and opportunities.
rights holders as they fight to retain sponsor support, and
their share of the A&P budget in this economic climate: For rights holders, their key challenge is to retain their
major sponsors, through driving their partnership even
 Communication: 85% of sponsors agree with the harder to deliver on a sponsor’s objectives.
statement that “There is a need for more open
communication between sponsors and rights holders”. Sponsors wish to retain their competitive advantage and
 Benefits: 46% of sponsors agree with the statement build on the brand equity and association gained. History
that “The benefits of sponsorship are not well shows that smart brand marketers who can maintain their
understood in my organisation”. advertising and promotional spend during a downturn
 Evaluation: Key stakeholder feedback is seen as the actually increase their share of voice, visibility and top-of-
most important evaluation measure (99%), but only mind awareness, whilst those who cut A&P budgets suffer
43% of rights holders undertake sponsor feedback declines which make it difficult to catch up when the
surveys. economy improves and budgets return to normal levels.
Unless rights holders adopt strategies to address these The challenge for sponsors, in assessing whether to
concerns they risk a reduction in revenue, as scarce A&P continue their commitment is to demonstrate that the
funds are reallocated to other media that can demonstrate sponsorship achieves their Return on Investment and
a better return on investment. Return on Objectives targets and that this is well
understood within their organisation.
In this environment, proactive strategies need to be
developed to maximise the “touch and tangibility” benefits In this environment rights holders’ engagement with
of the sponsorship within sponsor organisations. sponsors is critical, along with evaluation measures to
support the continuity of the sponsorship.
Sponsorship as a competitive advantage
Sponsorship is a way to persuade consumers indirectly Threats to Sponsorship
through an association with a rights holder / property. If Whilst the economy and pressure on sponsor budgets, is
used strategically, a sponsorship programme can be currently the biggest threat for sponsorship retention, it is
developed into a distinctive competence, thus creating cyclic by nature and is beyond the rights holder’s control.
competitive advantage.
Three other core threats that are constant, and where
Gaining a competitive advantage is becoming more of a rights holders should remain vigilant with their
challenge within a cluttered market place in which there relationships, are essentially based around the people,
are increased incidences of ambush marketing. This has dynamics in a sponsor’s organisation, i.e.:
led sponsors to explore new ways to leverage their  Senior Management: In many instances when
investments and maximise sponsorship return, particularly sponsorships commenced, particularly sports related
through an integrated approach using sponsorship with ones, they were arranged at a business owner, Board
other elements of the communications mix (publicity, member, CEO or senior management level, often
advertising, sales promotion, personal sales). A synergistic without any real ROI assessment and thought about
approach will not only maximize communications brand “fit”. Sponsorship decisions were often emotional
effectiveness, but also contribute to building brand equity. ones and justified as being “our way of putting back
something into the community that has supported us”.
The Partnership The reality was the sport/event was dear to the heart of
Both have similar and complimentary needs from the the decision maker and, put bluntly, it was a chance for
partnership. Research has shown that the competitive them to be “famous”.
advantage achieved by a sponsor, through a sponsorship,
is dependent on the strength of the link between the With the evolution of sponsorship and the addition of
sponsor and the sponsorship property and is far more support promotional activities designed to leverage
effective, if there is a logical fit, or “perceptual match”, and maximise the sponsorship investment, effective
between the brands of the sponsor and property. control has moved from the boardroom and “C” suite,
to the marketing and sponsorship departments.
The objective for maintaining a sponsorship investment However rights holders should continue to retain and
over time is to build an association between the sponsor build relationships with their senior management and
and the rights holder / property in the minds of consumers. board contacts, as their influence will be invaluable.

3.  Middle Management: With the evolution of the sponsorship relationship to that of
The days of employees staying with a Company for a “Strategic Partner”, what new capabilities will sponsors
their working life are well gone. Gen X and Y demand of their rights holders? How will the dynamics of
managers are career driven, lack company loyalty (as account management need to change?
a result of continued retrenchments of middle
management), are very aware of building their CV and Rights holders will need to focus on two key areas to
always have their eye on their next career move - and enhance sponsorship performance and improve their
a successful sponsorship, particularly with associated relationship with sponsors:
sales or market share increases, looks great on their
CV.  Customer focus: They must adopt a customer focus
culture with a more agile, responsive organisation that
For marketing and brand managers in multi-national responds to specific sponsor needs. Some rights
companies, sponsorship, advertising and product holders may require a dramatic paradigm shift in how
promotions are often the only quick way for them to they select, manage and sustain their account
“make their mark” during their relatively short tenure. management teams. Many must pursue changes in
their culture, people, relationships and processes to
With Global brands requiring consistency in delivery, elevate customer focus to the level of importance
today’s marketing and brand managers have few demanded by the sponsor organisation (particularly
opportunities for movement in the four “Ps” of marketing and brand management) to drive and
marketing - Product, Price, Place (distribution) and maintain mutually beneficial relationships.
Promotion. Product formulation, pricing and distribution  Broadening skills and capabilities: Key account
options and strategies are pretty much fixed, so their managers often lack the client management and
only opportunity to drive awareness, trial and sales is analytical skills required to build and maintain the
through promotion. They have learnt that a well relationship and need to become more broad-based in
targeted and brand-aligned sponsorship, and its their business capability.
support activities, is a far easier, faster way (and often
significantly cheaper) to add to their CV, than To improve performance in this area, account
developing a great creative idea and gaining a massive managers and teams must better understand the
advertising budget to sell it. sponsor’s business and shift from a focus on “selling
sponsorship” to a focus on “addressing their
Middle management can be rights holder’s greatest requirements”. They will need to develop new skills
supporters in the sponsor company. But constant which will enable them to meet shifting needs with
“churn” of key functional managers, with “ownership” of greater agility and impact. At the same time,
the sponsorship, is a threat that rights holders need to however, traditional relationship-building and sales
be aware of and have strategies to safeguard their skills will still be important. The key will be to
relationship. develop business management skills, while
 Corporate Strategy: maintaining strong sales ability, to benefit the rights
“Change of direction” by a sponsor is often the biggest holder in the long run.
threat to sponsorship retention. Often a change in
corporate strategy, or direction, is linked to (or because Sponsor Engagement and Communication
of) a management change, whether at board, senior or Research indicates that not only is there a lack of open
middle level management. Developing and communication between sponsors and rights holders, but
implementing new, or changes in, strategies is a that many do not understand the benefits of sponsorship.
common way for new aspirational managers to make
their mark in a Company, and add to their CV.
Communication: % Agree with statement
For a rights holder this justification for withdrawal from
a sponsorship is perhaps the hardest to combat. Only
two things will assist you to mount a good case for There is a need for more open 85%
retention: The ability to demonstrate that the communication between 77%
sponsorship meets their ROI targets and that this is sponsors and rightsholders
well understood within their organisation and the
strength and support of relationships with the people The benefits of sponsorship are 46%
above and around the manager seeking change. not well understood in my 38%
organisation
Managing complex sponsor relationships: 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Sponsor relationships have evolved from “one point-of- Source: Repucom sponsorship outlook 2010 Sponsors Rightsholders
contact” between the rights holder and sponsor to
“multiple points-of-contact”, often coordinated by a key
Both issues gain in importance during challenging
sponsor/account manager who orchestrates the activities
economic times and may put the sponsorship at risk.
of the rights holders’ team.
With 85% of sponsors and 77% of rights holders agreeing
The sponsor account manager will often work across the
with the statement that “There is a need for more open
organisational matrix. To help them perform this role more
communication between sponsors and rights holders”,
effectively, rights holders will need to seek ways to provide
rights holders should be proactive with engagement
their account managers with a holistic view of all
strategies for key sponsors to extend the sponsorship and
sponsorship activities, including access to information.
build the relationship.
Sponsorship Evaluation – Importance

4. 2010 research by Repucom, in their Sponsorship Outlook
Three possible engagement strategies to consider are: Survey, shows that Key stakeholder feedback is seen as
 Work with the sponsor’s brand marketing, sponsorship the most important performance measure, with 99%
and advertising and promotional teams to undertake seeing it as either “Extremely, Very or Quite important.
innovative, low cost or FOC, added-value activation
initiatives that focus on expansion of the sponsorship, Seven of the eight other measures that rated highly in
e.g. through more: exposure and signage, product importance are quantitative measures related to the
association and endorsement, joint promotions, player brand, i.e. awareness/attitudes, participation in
appearances, client hospitality functions, social media promotional activity, sales figures etc, or audience reach
activities etc; and participation and media exposure metrics.
 Make building the relationship with sponsors a priority
to drive support and buy-in for the sponsorship. Importance of Performance Measures
Encourage the entire rights holder’s team (Directors,
officials, account teams, players, support staff etc) to Key stakeholder feedback 27% 39% 33%
increase engagement and have more communication Brand research /tracking 33% 58% 6%
with all levels of the sponsor organisation. 24% 46% 24%
Media exposure analysis
27% 36% 27%
In particular, focus on key decision makers and Attendance figures
influencers in the “C” suite, marketing and sponsorship Media reach (TV audience) 27% 36% 24%
teams and in the sales, business development and Promotional participation 15% 55% 18%
customer-facing areas of their organisation, where it 21% 36% 21%
Independent research
will have most impact and influence the continuity of
6% 46% 21%
the sponsorship. Rightsholder health trends
 As part of this engagement and relationship building, Sales figures 9% 21% 27%
ensure that all points of contact are “on-side” with the 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
sponsorship and can appreciate the benefits and return Source: Repucom sponsorship outlook 2010 Extremely important Very important Quite important
to their organisation. Ensure they can “touch” the
sponsorship and have involvement in some way, either
at the venue or other promotional and support activities Sponsorship Evaluation – The gap
undertaken. There are many market, media and specialist sports
research companies that provide a wealth of quantitative
Sponsor relationships have evolved from “one point-of- information to evaluate the effectiveness, impact and
contact” through the sponsorship officer or CEO, to return on investment of sponsorships, including: TV &
“multiple points-of-contact” coordinated by an account radio ratings, advertising expenditure; Media exposure
manager who orchestrates the regular communications, (TV, Print, Radio, Internet); Consumers: consumer
news and support activities. attitudes, interest, attendance, passion, sponsorship
awareness etc, and many have become the benchmark
It is vital to establish personal relationships with all levels used by rights holders and sponsors alike.
and touch points within a sponsor’s organisation, so that
even if key people leave the organisation, relationships However, it is the qualitative research and sponsor
continue at other levels and can be used to leverage and feedback area that is most important and least
build relationships with new people. undertaken. Latest research shows that key stakeholder
feedback is seen as the most important evaluation
Sponsorship Evaluation – The business case measure (99%), but that only 43% of rights holders
undertake sponsor feedback surveys.
Rights holders, event owners and sports organisations, are
businesses and need to regard their sponsors as strategic
partners and treat them as if they are key account
customers. They need to build relationships and provide
added value so that sponsors may build on the
sponsorship with support activities that link to and extend
the visibility of the association and their brands.
In order to retain the strategic partner relationship and
sponsors, they need to undertake evaluation of the
sponsors’ satisfaction with the sponsorship and whether it
meets their objectives.
For rights holders there are important benefits from
sponsorship evaluation, i.e. to:
 Better understand and work with brand sponsors
 Identify sponsors at risk, or where they could improve
the added value they provide and the relationship
 Demonstrate they deliver ROI for brands, in order to be As part of their sponsorship evaluation process, rights
successful at attracting and retaining sponsors holders should undertake one or two formal feedback
surveys annually – one at the end of the season/event and,
“For knowing afar of the evils that are brewing, they are
where the activity covers a season, an early/mid-season
easily cured. But when they are allowed to grow until review with key sponsors should be considered - so that
everyone can recognise them, there is no longer any any issues may be identified and discussed.
remedy to be found.” Machiavelli

5. Key Sponsor Feedback Surveys – What Sponsor Feedback Surveys – the process
makes us different The critical steps in a successful sponsor feedback
Most sponsor satisfaction surveys are undertaken using program process are:
traditional market research practices of: Random  Define specific KPIs and metrics;
sampling, perhaps stratified, directed to random  Survey sponsors:
contacts, with anonymous responses and reporting at an o Key stakeholders rate your performance.
overall level, perhaps with some demographic analysis, o Rights holders can rate their own performance.
e.g. sponsor size (value range). The problem is you don’t  Reports
know where the “noise” is coming from or how important o Individual reports on results, by stakeholder group;
the source is and risk reacting to the “squeaky wheel” o Overall reports showing sponsor comparisons;
syndrome, rather than responding in a targeted manner.  Review - Meet with sponsors to identify strengths and
prepare action plans to address any areas of
Our sponsor feedback programs are based on proven perceived underperformance.
performance management techniques:
 Specifically targeted at your top sponsors – the 20%
that give you 80% of your revenue;
 Directed to key contacts/decision makers and
influencers by inviting all contacts at all levels (“C”
suite, Senior, Middle and day-to-day contacts);
 Anonymous responses, but reporting at a sponsor
level, with analysis by each of the assessor groups;
 Now you know where the “noise” is coming from,
and have individual discussions about improvement.
360° Feedback: Is a multi-dimensional assessment tool
commonly used in HR applications for leadership
development. We also use this tool and concept in
Procurement/supplier and B2B Customer satisfaction
surveys and for Key Stakeholder surveys to assess the
performance of an organisation and to get comments
from various stakeholder groups, so they can understand
the different perspectives at either a geographic or
contact level (Key contacts & decision-makers). KPIs need to be sponsor specific, with realistic and
appropriate rating scales and descriptors that align with
Two-way reviews: Many organisations also ask their achievable expectations and agreed to by sponsors.
right holders to provide feedback on their performance as
a sponsor, particularly in relationship KPIs, separately KPIs generally focus on two key areas:
from the 360° sponsor feedback review.  Product and Capability: ROI and ROO (Return on
Objectives) KPIs around the brand and activation/
This technique is used for high-touch, high-value support activities and the partner relationship.
strategic partner relationships where the rights holder is  Business Contribution: KPIs that measure how the
particularly dependent on the timely performance of the sponsorship engages key stakeholders in their
sponsor, without which their performance will be business and how it adds value to the business.
impacted. In many instances, these assessments are
also combined with a separate 360° feedback survey to
gain the perspective of all parties and stakeholders.
Our approach:
Key sponsor feedback programs should not be just
surveys, but part of a process of continuous improvement
of formal and informal feedback, review of results and
agreed improvement plans.
Four criteria underpin our approach:
 Performance improvement is a “Journey” to improve
sponsor satisfaction and engagement, with the end
game being sponsorship retention.
 The process must ensure high sponsor participation
through prior engagement, communication of results
and evident change.
 Our measurement criteria are based on Global best
practice, using hard business drivers as well as
traditional sponsorship and relationship KPIs.
 We are content agnostic in our assessment tools - “If you want to have early warnings about possible problems in a
we don’t insist on standard questions, just to relationship and a way to surface issues and address them
collaboratively, you have to have a mechanism to take the temperature
preserve benchmarking. Our on-line software is
of the relationship, compare its effectiveness up against agreed metrics,
simply a platform for clients to use their own design, and then talk about the results.”
content, KPIs, rating scales and descriptors. (Source: Vantage Partners)

6. On-line Appraisal and Feedback Tool Reports
The Performware™ Key Sponsor Monitor encourages Feedback to sponsors on how they rated your
a collaborative approach to continuous performance performance is critical and forms the basis of review
improvement in what can be complex business partner meetings and action plans. The software provides on-line
relationships, often with multiple touch-points in both generated reports for both the individual sponsor and to
organisations. It facilitates a more strategic way to the account managers for comparison across their
manage sponsor relationships, through metric-based portfolio of sponsors.
ratings that provide a weighted assessment. Results are
presented in a dashboard format along with matrices, Detailed, automated, on-line reports mean that analysis
trend charts and verbatim comments, all on-line. and feedback can be timely, with a menu of reports in
dashboard and graphics formats covering:
It will assist rights holders to better engage with their key  Sponsor portfolio reports for account managers – By
sponsors and tell them: category, by KPI, rankings, ratings, trends;
 How your key sponsors rate your performance;  Individual sponsor reports – Ratings and comments,
 What differences in opinion, if any, exist between with analysis by contact level.
your senior, middle and junior level contacts;
 Other feedback, both positive and negative; Example Sponsor Reports:
 Overall comments –the strengths they see in you Overall score: Shows overall performance summary at
and the areas you need to develop. KPI group level and ratings broken down by stakeholder
 How your key sponsors’ ratings compare groups. The “Traffic light” dashboard style report allows
easy identification of areas of high performance (green),
The Performware™ 360° Feedback platform is a with the yellow shading being average and the red zones
leading edge, web-based system that is non- areas where the detailed analysis reports will identify
prescriptive, fully configurable, scalable and flexible to which specific questions require attention.
suit individual requirements. Key benefits are:
 It will accommodate your own assessment
philosophy and measures, including KPIs and
questions, your own rating scale and definitions;
 A unique, optional, algorithm based weighting
process can be applied to ensure a focus on
priorities. Alternately, you can ask sponsors to
weight the importance, to them, of each KPI.
Ratings distribution: This report shows stakeholder
group “sentiment”, i.e. the percentage that score positive,
neutral or negative. Reports are provided for overall
performance at KPI group level, and individual question,
and can be converted to and compared with a NPS (Net
 Appraisal - Being web based, with full security and Promoter Score).
confidentiality, it enables continuous access to
appraisals and for them to be undertaken at any
frequency and time, anywhere.
 The user-friendly features engender confidence in
the survey and encourage engagement.
 Reviews:
o The online tool functionality, includes automated
email notification, and allows us to track survey
completion and send reminder emails.
o The assessment process enables participants to
assess performance individually, with their results
aggregated into assessor groups by function/role
or level, e.g. “C” suite, Senior Executives,
Managers, functional/operations people etc.
o Free-text comments boxes can be provided for
each KPI and there is provision for up to six
general comments question in the last section of
the assessment tool.
 The optional “self-assessment” dimension will
provide a comparison of their perception of the
relationship with that of the sponsor.

7. Trend: Shows stakeholder group “sentiment” over time Summary
for each KPI and question. Today, sponsors want their rights holders to become a
“Strategic Partner” and “business builder”, helping to
optimise their revenue through an understanding of their
specific business needs and delivery on their ROI and
ROO objectives.
The journey to a strategic partner is not easy, but is worth
the effort. It requires paradigm shifts by both parties,
particularly in attitudes, requiring openness, trust and
information sharing. Sponsors expect their rights holders
to engage with them at all levels and to be proactive in
suggesting ways to further leverage and support the
sponsorship.
Regular informal and formal feedback from both parties is
critical in the “Strategic Partner” journey. A Key Sponsor
feedback program is a vital tool to help rights holders to
improve their performance and reach their full potential
and cement their sponsorship and relationship position.
A well designed Key Sponsor Feedback program,
based on regular performance reviews and
constructive feedback will assist rights holders and
their sponsors to objectively assess performance and
drive improvement. Thus ensuring the continuity of the
Portfolio report: Overall performance summary at KPI association, for mutual benefit.
group level, ranked by sponsor, compares sponsor ratings
and highlights areas of good performance and concern. Proactive strategies need to be developed to maximise
the “touch and tangibility” benefits of the sponsorship
within sponsor organisations.
Four possible engagement strategies to consider are:
 Work with the sponsor’s brand marketing, sponsorship
and advertising and promotional teams to undertake
innovative, low cost or FOC, added-value activation
initiatives that focus on expansion of the sponsorship.
 Make building the relationship with sponsors a priority
to drive support and buy-in for the sponsorship.
Encourage the entire rights holder’s team to increase
engagement and have more communication with the
sponsor organisation. In particular, focus on key
decision makers and influencers in the “C” suite,
marketing and sponsorship teams and in the sales,
business development and customer-facing areas of
their organisation, where it will have most impact and
influence the continuity of the sponsorship.
 As part of this engagement and relationship building,
ensure that all points of contact are “on-side” with the
sponsorship and can appreciate the benefits and return
How we work with you to their organisation. Ensure they can “touch” the
When we work directly with you, we provide: sponsorship and have involvement in some way, either
 Website (your branding), KPIs, survey set-up at the venue or other promotional and support
 Survey administration, progress reports activities.
 Full reports (Sponsor and Rights holders) and  Implement a Key Sponsor feedback program with the
personal presentation of results. 20% that give you 80% of your revenue and undertake
Should you wish to use your sponsorship consultancy, one or two reviews a year, Ensure your KPIs reflect
with us as an invisible support service, then we provide: sponsors ROI and ROO objectives and use a 360°
 Website (your branding), KPIs, survey set-up assessment tool to gather feedback from all levels of
 Survey administration, progress reports contacts within sponsor organisations. Share and
discuss the results with sponsors and ensure
 Administrator training for your report production
Your consultant works direct with you on presentation of performance improvement plans are carried through.
results and individual sponsor improvement strategies.
To get access to an example assessment, or to have your Sponsor
Feedback review converted to the Performware on-line assessment
tool, contact Ron Latham: phone +61 2 9959 3815
Ron.Latham@performware.com.au